Top Iranian general killed in US airstrike in Baghdad, Pentagon confirms

Iran’s top commander General Qassim Soleimani has been killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, the Pentagon confirmed on Thursday night following reports of his death on Iranian state television and Iraqi media.

Soleimani, who led a special forces unit of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, has been a key figure of Iranian and Middle East politics. His death exacerbated already-high tensions between Iran and the United States, and triggered concerns of retaliation from Iranian forces.Hours after the Pentagon’s announcement, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that the killingssination of Soleimani was “extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation.”

“The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism,” he said.

The latest development comes on the heels of a New Year’s Eve attack by Iran-backed militias on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The two-day embassy attack prompted President Donald Trump to order the deployment of approximately 750 U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.